LIFE-SAVING EMP BUNKER

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Table of contents

Table of contents ............................................................................................................. 2

How will it be like? ........................................................................................................... 3

Can we stop it? ............................................................................................................... 5

Underground Bunker ....................................................................................................... 8

The Top 9 Things to Consider When Building a Shelter ................................................ 13

Materials needed .................................................................................................................................... 21

The building process ............................................................................................................................... 22

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How will it be like?

Imagine a very bright flash in the sky! No one is hurt. But, your

transistor radio stops playing, your car won't start, the telephone

doesn't ring, lights stay off, and we find ourselves in the stone age!

THE development of modern high-tech semiconductor devices

have paralleled unsettled relations between the nations of the world

with resulting technological advances affecting the lives of every

citizen of North America.

Communications have been made faster, automobiles more fuel-

efficient and maintenance-free, TV sets, video-tape recorders, and

virtually every other piece of electronics equipment have been

improved by the advent of the semiconductor and its high-tech

advancements.

The relationship between nuclear weapons and the recent

electronics advances may seem unclear, but a nuclear attack on the

North American continent could make that relationship glaringly

apparent.

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ALL nuclear explosions produce electromagnetic pulses (EMP's) and

the ensuing induced voltages and currents produced in conductors

(wires and cables) are comparable in strength to the strongest of

lightning bolts. EMP's may reach 3 million volts and 10,000

amperes for a total of 30-billion watts of energy.

The largest commercial radio stations in the U.S. and Canada radiate

50,000 watts, or approximately one-millionth that much power!

The major difference between EMP's and lightning is that EMP's are

induced simultaneously over an entire wide area, while lightning

occurs at a single location.

THREE ten-megaton thermonuclear weapons detonated 250 miles

(400 kilometers) above the United States or Canada would produce

EMP's strong enough to knock out the entire electrical power grid of

North America including the entire civilian-telephone network, and

just about every broadcast station.

Virtually every piece of unprotected electronic equipment in the

country - radios, TV sets, computers, electronic controls in homes,

office buildings, factories, cars, airplanes, and instruments in

hospitals -- would be damaged, if not destroyed. The pulses would

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also damage or destroy large portions of the military command's

control and communication (C3) system.

A chain reaction could be set in motion at nuclear power plants, due

to electromagnetic pulses. Although it is a point that is frequently

disputed, the possibility exists that reactor core meltdowns might

occur as a result of EMP's. The meltdowns would be a by-product of

electronic control system failure.

The control systems are used to monitor and control the processes

at the plants. The EMP's could cause the system to fail and result in

partial or complete loss of control over vital functions, causing

subsequent melt-downs. We know that those nuclear plants are

designed to be fail safe, but has anyone considered the possibility of

every circuit breaker in a plant failing at the same instant?

Can we stop it?

Well, it doesn't need to be that bad. Once you understand EMP, you

can take a few simple precautions to protect yourself and equipment

from it. In fact, you can enjoy much of the "high tech" life style

you've come accustomed to even after the use of a nuclear device

has been used by terrorists - or there is an all-out WWIII.

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EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse), also sometimes known as "NEMP"

(Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse), was kept secret from the public for

a long time and was first discovered more or less by accident when

US Military tests of nuclear weapons started knocking out phone

banks and other equipment miles from ground zero.

EMP is no longer "top secret" but information about it is still a little

sketchy and hard to come by. Adding to the problems is the fact that

its effects are hard to predict; even electronics designers have to test

their equipment in powerful EMP simulators before they can be sure

it is really capable of withstanding the effect.

EMP occurs with all nuclear explosions. With smaller explosions the

effects are less pronounced. Nuclear bursts close to the ground are

dampened by the earth so that EMP effects are more or less confined

to the region of the blast and heat wave.

But EMP becomes more pronounced and wide spread as the size

and altitude of a nuclear blast is increased since the ground; of these

two, altitude is the quickest way to produce greater EMP effects. As

a nuclear device is exploded higher up, the earth soaks up fewer of

the free electrons produced before they can travel some distance.

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The most "enhanced" EMP effects would occur if a nuclear weapon

were exploded in space, outside the Earth's atmosphere. In such a

case, the gamma radiation released during the flash cycle of the

weapon would react with the upper layer of the earth's atmosphere

and strip electrons free from the air molecules, producing

electromagnetic radiation similar to broad-band radio waves (10

kHz-100 MHz) in the process.

These electrons would follow the earth's magnetic field and quickly

circle toward the ground where they would be finally dampened.

(To add to the confusion, we now have two more EMP terms:

"Surface EMP" or "SEMP" which refers to ground bursts with

limited-range effects and "High-altitude EMP" or "HEMP" which is

the term used for a nuclear detonation creating large amounts of

EMP.)

Tactically, a space-based nuclear attack has a lot going for it; the

magnetic field of the earth tends to spread out EMP so much that

just one 20-MT bomb exploded at an altitude of 200 miles could--in

theory--blanket the continental US with the effects of EMP.

It's believed that the electrical surge of the EMP from such an

explosion would be strong enough to knock out much of the civilian

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electrical equipment over the whole country. Certainly this is a lot

of "bang for the buck" and it would be foolish to think that a nuclear

attack would be launched without taking advantage of the confusion

a high-altitude explosion could create. Ditto with its use by

terrorists should the technology to get such payloads into space

become readily available to smaller countries and groups.

But there's no need for you to go back to the stone age if a nuclear

war occurs. And you will survive if you manage to build an

underground bunker.

Underground Bunker

Underground protection from weapons has always been the

preferred method of survival. As basic as a hand dug foxhole on the

battlefield or a deep fortress built into a mountain such as

Colorado’s Norad. During WW2 when the cities of Great Britain

were being bombed relentlessly by the Germans, families took

shelter underground at night time. Deep underground Subways

were popular. Some residences made their own shelters.

One popular shelter was to use exterior basement or cellar stair

wells. They were usually built of brick or stone. An arched

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corrugated metal cover was placed over the stairwell and covered

with one or two feet of dirt. There was instance where high

explosives landed on the house or in the yard right next to these

shelters and the occupants survived. These systems were so

effective that the British government began issuing the arched

corrugated covers to anyone who had a suitable stairwell.

After Nuclear devices were dropped on Japan at the end of WW2

underground shelters took on a new shape. The fear was no longer

high explosives from air raids but instead nuclear weapons that

could destroy an entire city in one fell swoop. During the cold war

era the United States and USSR had tens of thousands of individual

warheads each.

The fear from the mid 1940’s to the late 1980’s was that one country

would launch a nuclear attack and the other country would

reciprocate with thousands of warheads passing each other on their

way to destroy every city in the country. These fears shaped the

underground shelters for their era.

The cold war era shelter was a deep underground shelter. It was

sized and stalked to be able to be self-sufficient for very long periods

of time. These nuclear shelters were made of various materials from

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concrete to corrugated metal tubing buried deep enough to protect

from initial nuclear blasts and radiation. Because of the size of these

types of shelters, they were expensive. They were also next to

impossible to hide the installation of such a shelter. You certainly

had to have disposable cash in order to purchase, install and stock

such a large shelter.

Because of the history of cold war era shelters, whenever you even

mention a Security Shelter people automatically roll their eyes and

think you are talking about a big underground bomb shelter.

Shelters have changed since the cold war era as the types of threats

have changed as well.

Thousands of nuclear weapons passing each other in the upper

atmosphere on their way to their prospective cities all over the

world are no longer the greatest threat. In fact, if nuclear weapons

were used it would most likely be a very small number of weapons

delivering EMP devices. These devices would be far less destructive

than thousands of nuclear weapons aimed at every city in the US.

There are new fears that are helping to shape the attitudes of

modern shelters. My studies have found that the threat of nuclear

weapons is at the near bottom of the list of most likely to happen.

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The top of the list of fears is economic collapse, social collapse,

anarchy created form the collapse of our own monetary system,

pandemic, coronal mass ejections, terrorism and other natural

disasters such as tornados and hurricanes.

The trend has changed from a deep underground bunker to an

urban foxhole style of bunker. An urban foxhole is a smaller security

bunker. It is still underground but because of its smaller size it can

be installed with no one knowing you have it and can be installed

under your existing garage floor in some cases.

The new urban foxhole style shelter can be used numerous ways.

Ultimately it is an underground shelter designed for the survival of

you or your food and gun stores during any catastrophic event.

Because of the smaller size of the unit (compared to deep

underground long term stay bunkers) it is far less expensive than

old style bunkers.

Because it can be installed directly under your garage floor it has the

advantage of being accessed from inside your home. This is a very

exciting feature. You urban foxhole can be used for a safe room for

your children or loved ones in case of home invasion. It can also be

used as a secure vault for your valuables and emergency stores

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while you are away from home. Your valuables can be kept safe from

flooding or fires. Because of its constant relative inside

temperatures and insulated hull system it is also ideal as a wine

room.

In the case of an EMP delivered by a nuclear weapon you and your

family would take cover inside the Urban Foxhole under the garage

or patio floor within seconds. Because this device is most likely an

airburst delivery the hazards of a nuclear blast would not be long

lasting.

The security pod air in and outlets are protected with blast valves

that will automatically shut off when a pressure wave or loss of

pressure wave passes over head. As long as the nuclear detonation

does not come in contact with the ground, long term radio activity

from fall out will be minimal. For an enemy to cripple our country

with an EMP device the targets would be our electrical grid supply

system and not our cities in general.

As long as you are outside a 15 mile range of the detonation you are

only required to have a 50psi protection rating on your shelter.

Urban Fox holes have well over 500psi estimated protection. You

would use your stockpiled stores and emergency communication

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systems to gather the necessary outside information to decide when

to come out. The first 24 hours is the most critical time and you

would want to not run your air filtration system if possible. This will

depend directly on how many people you have in your shelter. NBC

filters are available as are many other filters.

When the oxygen level in your shelter drops to a certain point,

occupants will become nauseated and light headed. You will turn

your air filtration system on and off manually as needed to conserve

you air filters. The air system runs off of 110vac/ 12vdc and has a

backup hand operated pump system. These shelters can be modified

to protect against radiation using geometric attenuation.

The Top 9 Things to Consider When Building a Shelter

1) Affordability assessment

2) Risk Assessment

3) Geological Assessment

4) Shelter sizing

5) Choosing a shelter location

6) Shelter entry system

7) Shelter Air System

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8) Emergency Escape System

9) Top things to have in your survival shelter

1) Affordability Assessment. We purchase car insurance, health

insurance and even life insurance for when we die…. How about

purchasing some insurance to help you and your family live?? How

much are you willing, or can you afford to invest in a survival plan

for your family? You have basically 2 choices.

• A “stay put shelter” (Large underground bomb style bunker)

and they are the most expensive systems and impossible to

hide the installation from neighbors.

• “Urban Foxhole” shelters are smaller, less expensive and easier

to hide the installation. They can be installed inside your

existing garage.

Other countries have been preparing their citizens to survive

disasters ever since ww2. In fact in some parts of the world shelters

are required in all new construction. Here in the US people seem to

think the government will take care of us, or that we have nothing to

worry about.

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History proves that every society ever created has had life span and

that eventually terminates in its destruction. As a good provider for

my family I feel the need to plan for disaster but hope it never

happens. To be ignorant of the possibilities is negligence. You must

be prepared to take care of yourself.

2) Risk Assessment. In our case, we need to protect ourselves in

case of an EMP Attack.

3) Geological assessment

What type of geological substructure are you sitting on? Do you

have a lot of boulders, Granit, or other hard substrate? Is the ground

porous? Clay? How shallow is the water table in the spring and

winter? Are there ponds or lakes nearby? These things need to be

considered. Water is especially a problem for underground systems.

If you think water could affect you will need a water proof system

such as the Security Pod by Smart Product Technology.

4) Shelter sizing

How many people will be in your shelter? Keep in mind the amount

of food water and air everyone in the shelter will need. The

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minimum water for a grown man is 10 cups a day. A minimum 1,200

calories a day to keep the body from feeding off of itself. An adult

will require approximately 10 cubic feet of natural atmosphere per

hour for breathing for an adult.

How long will you occupy the shelter will be another factor in sizing

the system needed. The shorter the stay inside the less comfortable

it needs to be. That means the less expensive it needs to be.

5) Choosing a shelter location

Long term stay put shelters

Remember you cannot move! You are married to your long term

bunker. The biggest drawback is the lack of secrecy when installing

such a system. If it’s located in your back yard and you live in the

suburbs that would probably mean that your neighbors saw you

craning it over the house or saw all the concrete and pump trucks in

your yard.

Chances are you also told someone what you were doing and asked

them not to say anything. Asking someone not to say anything is

really asking them just to tell their closest friends only….then the

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closest friend does the same thing and so on and so on. The best

security is that no one knows about the bunker! Not even the

neighbor. For security reasons it is better to place such a large

bunker on remote property outside of the view of neighbors.

That creates a new problem… It’s not quickly accessible and that

will limit what events it can be used for. People that know you have

emergency supplies may respect your privacy the first week or two

but when things become desperate you will hear the knock knock on

your hatch.

Smaller urban foxhole shelters – This should be your choice in

case of an EMP Attack.

It is highly recommended that the shelter be installed with an

entrance inside your home or on your immediate property with the

entrance only steps from the house. When the entrance is inside

your home you will have the maximum use and security for the

shelter. Entering from inside the home allows additional uses such

as safe rooms for home intrusions.

You can occupy both the residence and the shelter going in and out

of either as necessary without exposing yourself to the outside.

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These systems are far less expensive than the large bunkers but

come with air systems and locking systems just like the big ones.

6) Entry Systems

It’s always good to have a 2nd exit incase debris falls on your

shelter. Ideally, you want a jacking system to hydraulically lift debris

off of you from inside the shelter. Patio or garden entrances offer

other benefits in a hatch such as view ports.

7) Shelter Air System

You must insure that you have the ability to bring in fresh air and

filter the air for different circumstances. Your air system needs to be

protected with devices such as blast valves (they will keep

concussions from hammering you with pressure waves while you

are inside the shelter), overpressure or positive pressure valves.

Your snorkel lines need to be plumbed with galvanized schedule 40

steel minimum to withstand earth movement. You system should

have battery and manual back up. You should calculate the number

and kinds of filters you need to have on hand. Plan how you will

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terminate your outside snorkels. They can be placed in a rock pot or

they can be brought up and turned over and look like oil tank vents.

8) Emergency Escape System

You never want you bunker to be your coffin, so make certain you

have an emergency escape. It does not have to be a separate

entrance although I can be, but they cost more money. You can hide

an emergency exit in a sand filled hole. You drain the sand into the

bunker to open it. Or you can make sure the system you buy has the

ability to hydraulically lift the hatch and whatever else might be

parked on you up.

9) Top Things To Have In Your Shelter

• Dependable air supply and filters

• Water!!

• Food Reserves

• Sanitation Necessities

• Communication Systems

• Emergency Exit Plan to Leave the Shelter and the Area

• Self Defense Tools

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• First Aid Supplies

• Items to keep people occupied. Small games, card games and

dice games are good. Bibles or books to read. Chores and duties

for people to perform. Fighting boredom may determine how

long people are willing to put up with such restricted

conditions.

• Batteries! and lots of them. Protected in a faraday cage.

How To Build A Basic Underground Shelter

You can have a bunker built for you and we certainly recommend

this, however your budget may not allow for this, or perhaps you are

a hands-on kind of person. To that end, we have searched far and

wide for the best advice on building your own bunker on the cheap.

We have acquired large, heavy duty tarps, parachute cord and if

necessary, we can acquire 20 foot lengths of PVC pipe to make a

frame for a dome shelter. However, wind begins to become an

obvious factor in making a decent shelter, and tarps and plastic pipe

just wouldn't work. What to do?

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Ideally, one or a few of those Sea Box type shipping containers

would be great, but at US$4,000+ each, that's not within our grasp at

this time. Wood frames can withstand a great amount of wind, but

they also have their limits. It came to mind that underground would

be a good place, but not a cave or mine, since the possibility of cave-

in is pretty good.

What follows are the plans I have made for a simple box, that can be

put, or more likely built in a hole. Properly covered, it will withstand

a great deal of adverse conditions. Since money is by no means

plentiful in our lives, I planned it as simply as possible. Once decent

shelter is achieved, comforts can be added as the materials are

acquired. I say "acquired" because more than half of the supplies we

have been able to get came from means other than purchase.

Materials needed

• framing lumber from the dump

• dried foods that someone no longer wanted cluttering their

barn

• the generator we purchased with the proceeds from a

motorcycle we had sitting around collecting dust

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• water storage with old water heaters that I stripped, cleaned

and flushed out.

So, in the drawing of these plans, I kept in mind that the materials

for this box may be acquired piece-meal, and the construction would

go accordingly. Here goes.

The building process

Most of us are physically able to dig a hole by hand with a shovel,

pick and pry bar. The hole has to be about twelve feet wide, by

sixteen feet long. Depth is up to you. The deeper, obviously, the

better. Save what dirt that comes out of the hole, as it can be used to

cover your box. Based upon experience, in packed soil, with six inch

rock, a four feet deep hole took me four days of unforgettable hard

labor. Many hands make for light work. GET HELP!!

The simplest waterproofing would be by using landscape plastic. Six

mil would be the best. But if that's not available, the heaviest you

can get is better than none. You are going to wrap the entire box in

plastic, then fill in the hole around the box and cover it also. This is

why deeper is better. Before you begin putting your frame together,

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line the hole with the plastic. You will be assembling the frame over

the plastic, so be careful not to puncture it.

The box, as shown in the picture, is made up of 5 ribs, and 2 ends.

The box will be 7 feet, 10 ½ inches wide, 8 feet tall, and 11 feet, 10

½ inches long. The shaft for the entryway is 2 feet wide by 4 feet

long by 2 feet high.

MATERIALS

40 -- 2 x 6 - 8'

17 -- 4' x 8' x 8" Wafer Board (this is like particle board, but with

larger chunks of wood. It's cheap!!)

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The above materials are priced out at $460.00 maximum. This does

not include the hardware to fasten this thing together. A roll of

black, 6 mil plastic, 20 feet wide by one hundred feet long is $50.00.

If plastic is not available, no reason why a lot of paint and caulk

won't work just as good.

As far as fastening this thing together, if I have power available, I

plan to use 3" deck screws to fasten the 2x6's together and 2" deck

screws to attach the wafer board to the frame. If there is no power,

then a good old hammer and nails will have to do.

10d cement coat box nails if possible, for everything. The problem

with hammer and nails is that things tend to vibrate and loosen with

such a frame. Have a good heavy brace on the other side of what

you're nailing, like an eight pound sledge hammer.

The horizontal members of the ribs and end pieces should be cut to

seven feet, ten and one half inches long. All vertical members are to

be eight feet. This allows for the overlap of the top panels over the

side panels. See picture below.

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Construct the ribs and ends, and using the horizontal rails, fasten the

frame together. Everything must work in two feet increments, so the

panels will match the frame. Be as meticulous as you can in making

the frame square. Everything will fit better, if you do. Remember

that your panels are four feet wide, and must butt together in the

center of the rib.

Once the frame is complete, your panels can be fastened to the

frame. Do one end first, then the sides, working from one end to the

other.

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Before you do the remaining end and the top, cut your floor panels

to six feet, ten inches long, place them inside, and fasten them down.

Finish the remaining end.

You can now put the two whole top panels in place, then cut the last

panel to fit around the entryway. The last panel you have will be

used to cover the access way chimney. I did this to help keep debris

from falling inside. Make the hatch cover three inches bigger than

the outside of the chimney, and frame it with the last 2x6. It will

cover the hatch, and fastened down with hook and eyes, will provide

some security.

I deliberately left out any dimensions for the chimney. Measure and

cut to fit.

When you have reached this point, and have a ladder inside for

access, finish wrapping the plastic around everything. Back fill your

dirt around the box and cover it about a foot and a half on top. Pack

it down as best you can so it won't blow away.

The inside can be finished with wood frame bunks for sleeping and

storage. The exposed interior studs are easy to work with. Whatever

frame work you may add inside, fasten it as much as possible, to the

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sides, top and/or bottom. This will serve to reinforce the entire

structure.

Since the entire box is covered in plastic, it won't breath very well. A

lot of bodies generate moisture. With no where to evaporate, this

will eventually become a problem in moister climates. The hatch

ventilation may or may not be sufficient.

I have built a few structures similar to this in the past, and as far as

strength is concerned, it is a good plan. Good luck!

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